Jacques Laffitte

French banker and politician. Born to a carpenter in Bayonne in the south of France. He moved to Paris and quickly made his fortune in banking, becoming a director of the Banque de France in 1809 and its president from 1814 to 1819. During this time, he became a member of the National Assembly in 1816, and in the 1820s, as a leader of the liberal left, he resisted the government's reactionary policies. During the July Revolution of 1830, he played a central role in establishing the July Monarchy under Louis Philippe, Duke of Orléans, in order to prevent the emergence of a republic. He became prime minister in November 1830 and tried to promote liberal reforms, but was unable to resolve difficult issues such as financial difficulties and social unrest, and resigned in March 1831. Since then, he continued to take an anti-government stance as conservative rule continued. He also showed enthusiasm for improving France's credit system, opening the General Safeguard of Commerce and Industry in 1837. In addition to discounting bills, the bank also offered long-term industrial credit and promotional services, and became the forerunner of a new type of bank that developed during the Second Empire.

[Haruhiko Hattori]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

フランスの銀行家、政治家。南仏バイヨンヌの大工の子に生まれる。パリに出て銀行業で急速に富を積み、1809年フランス銀行理事、1814～1819年にはその総裁を務めた。この間、1816年に下院議員となり、1820年代には自由主義的左派のリーダーとして政府の反動化政策に抵抗した。1830年の七月革命に際しては、共和国の出現を阻止するためオルレアン公ルイ・フィリップによる七月王政の樹立に中心的役割を果たした。1830年11月首相となり、自由主義的改革を推進しようとしたが、財政難の打開、社会的騒乱の収拾などの難問を解決できず、1831年3月に辞任。以後保守派の支配が続くなかで反政府の立場をとり続けた。彼はまたフランスの信用制度の整備にも熱意を示し、1837年「商工業一般金庫」を開設。手形割引のほかに長期の産業信用や発起業務をも営むこの銀行は、第二帝政期に発展をみる新しいタイプの銀行の先駆となった。

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